


Girl Almighty

by JoMouse



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn Malik (Musician)
Genre: 1DLyricWheel, Alternate Universe, Clumsy Liam, F/M, Girl Direction, girl Zayn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 14:58:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8895634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: Liam keeps falling, literally, for Zayn while she, figuratively, falls back.
Submission for Third Round of the 1DLyricWheel Challenge - Album: Four





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing any of the guys as a girl and I hope it's alright.
> 
> Originally posted at the [1DLyricWheel](http://1dlyricwheel.tumblr.com/post/153997075292/girl-almighty-by-josjournal-pairing).
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Liam sat down on the bench, leaned over and grasped the ends of his shoelace. He wasn’t paying any attention to what was going on around him until he heard someone shouting, “Heads up!”

He looked up just in time for a wayward football to connect with his face. “Shit!” he shouted, hands flying to his nose as he felt the blood begin to flow freely. He instinctively tilted his head back to try to stop the nosebleed.

“Fuck, mate! I’m sorry!” He barely heard the shouted exclamation over the rushing in his ears. Then he felt fingers running gently over his face. “I told Harry that we shouldn’t fuck around with Lou’s ball.” The voice was husky, yet feminine, and Liam struggled for recognition.

“With my knowledge and und-” another voice broke in, only to be cut off by a familiar voice.

“No one cares!” Louis Tomlinson, best friend and worst nightmare of one Liam Payne, shouted, making Liam wince. “Payno, are you alright?”

“He’s gushing blood,” the first voice spoke up again, fingers still running over Liam’s face. “Do you really think he’s alright?”

Liam managed to blink his eyes open, surprised to see someone bent over him; either the person was really tall or was kneeling on the bench next to him. Liam flailed a hand out, connecting with a set of smooth legs next to him. Kneeling. Good to know. Then he realized he probably got blood all over the person.

He started to open his mouth to apologize, but was stopped when his hand was pushed away from his nose to be replaced by a soft cloth that smelled slightly like citrus and flowers and something else, a hint of smoke perhaps. It should have been overwhelming, but instead was actually fairly comforting.

“Seriously, mate, can you speak?” Louis asked, suddenly appearing in Liam’s field of vision, apparently moving behind the bench to peek at Liam’s face.

“Yeah,” Liam choked out, spitting a bit when he tasted blood, then apologizing when he realized it caused more blood to get on the cloth over his nose.

“Not an issue,” the voice said again. Liam finally focused, choking slightly as his eyes met a set of hazel orbs that were darkened in concern. He tried to pull back his vision to take in the rest of the face, but he couldn’t draw his gaze away from the slight changes in colour in the irises and a small speck that seemed to leak into the whites of the eyes. A perfect little dot of imperfection that would’ve made him smile if he weren’t in so much pain.

“Not much of a talker, is he?” This was from the person Louis had cut off earlier.

“Liam, do you know your name?” Louis asked.

“If he didn’t, he would now because you used it!” Liam could hear the sound of skin slapping skin and Louis protesting.

“That’s boyfriend abuse, Styles!” Louis shouted.

“Harry, then,” Liam muttered, identifying the voice of the one person Liam had yet to see. It was the boy Louis had met over the summer while Liam had been away at a training camp for runners. He was at the park today to meet him but had been sidetracked by an untied lace.

“And my mate, Zayn,” Harry spoke up.

“Yes, because now is the time for introductions,” Louis muttered, still looking down at Liam.

“Pleasure,” Liam said, flinching a bit when the cloth stuck as Zayn pulled it away.

“Really? If this is your idea of pleasure, you’re one kinky bastard,” she said, smiling wide when Liam let out a bit of a chuckle. 

He reached up, prodding gently at his nose and cheeks, relieved when nothing felt like it’d been broken. He sat up a bit taller, to take in the group around him. Louis was standing in front of him now, arm around a taller bloke with long brown curls, who must’ve been Harry. He had a dimpled smile on his face, but his sparkling green eyes held concern. He waved at Liam who smiled and waved back, wondering why the boy winced when he did.

“Your mouth is full of blood,” the person next to Liam spoke up before an open bottle of water appeared in front of him, tilted towards his mouth. He took a casual sip. “Don’t swallow it, you donut! Swish and spit!” He started to laugh, choking when the bottle was tilted into his mouth again.

“Gimme that,” Liam said once the choking had subsided. He took a giant gulp, swishing the water around and mentally flinching at the iron taste that flooded his mouth before he turned to spit over the back of the bench. As he turned back around, he was finally able to take in the complete visage of his nursemaid. When he did, his mouth fell open and the sip of water he’d just taken dribbled out.

_ Freaking gorgeous! _ was the only thought that filled Liam’s brain as he took in the woman kneeling on the bench next to him. Her short cut black hair with a grey streak had fallen to hide one of the hazel eyes he’d been admiring earlier. Strong cheekbones and flawless skin were the next things he noticed before finally falling to red lips with perfect white teeth digging into the lower one. 

“He’s drooling over you, Zee. Quite literally,” Harry said, sounding like he was trying to joke, but the concern was still heavy in his tone. “Maybe we should take him to A&E. He might have some kind of brain damage.”

Liam’s attention was grabbed by that and he started to shake his head, trying to ignore the nausea that provoked. “No, no, no, no,” he stated firmly, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth, groaning when he saw the amount of blood that was streaked there as he pulled away. 

“Liam’s a bit of a doctor-phobe,” Louis explained. “Spent too much time being poked and prodded as a wee lad.” Liam flipped off his soon-to-be-ex-best friend for the cooing tone that he was using.

“I’ll just pop into the loo and clean up. I’m sure it looks worse than it is,” Liam said, pushing to his feet. “No need to waste a doctor’s time.” He glared when he heard Louis clucking like a chicken under his breath.

“Is he always that big a wanker?” Zayn whispered as she stood as well, a steadying hand on Liam’s elbow, her breath brushing over his ear and sending a shiver through his body. “Are you cold?” 

“Nah. Someone must’ve walked over my grave,” he muttered, heading towards the public washroom to get away from this situation before his body started reacting in other ways.

“Hey, Liam!” Zayn shouted, but Liam pretended not to hear her, speeding up until he was nearly running. Then he felt a hand grip his elbow hard; she must’ve sprinted to catch up with him. “Liam, take this. It’ll be softer than the paper.” She was handing over her already bloodied shirt. 

“I’m sorry I ruined it,” he said, taking the shirt with a tight-lipped smile, trying not to show his teeth in case they were still blood covered.

“If I were that worried about it, I wouldn’t have used it. I’m not that selfless, mate,” she answered. “Now, go get yourself cleaned up so I can see if you’re really as fit as Louis claims.” She shoved him towards the building as Liam felt all the blood rush to his face.

It took him a few minutes to get cleaned up, but when he thought he was presentable, despite the bruising that was forming around his eyes, he left the building. He was surprised to find Zayn leaning against a bike rack across from the door, a cigarette between her lips and another tucked behind her ear.

She wasn’t looking at him, so Liam took a moment to admire her. She was dressed in a black vest, her arms crossed over her chest. Tattoos covered each arm and Liam thought he spied a few peeking out of the neck of her shirt. He glanced down at the blue and black flannel in his hands, picturing it draped over her shoulders. Oddly enough, he realized that she dressed an awful lot like he did.

“Hey,” Liam said as he crossed the path towards her, his foot catching on the shoelace he’d never managed to tie. He fell forwards, landing on his hands and knees at Zayn’s feet, his face very nearly landing in her lap. He heard her chuckling under her breath. He glanced up at her through his lashes, and even as embarrassed as he was, he felt himself falling in love with her smile. 

“Louis forgot to mention how forward you are,” Zayn said, reaching down to help Liam to his feet. She ran a hand over Liam’s cheek. “But he was right about the rest.” Liam feared he was going to spend every moment spent in Zayn’s presence in a perpetual state of embarrassment. 

He was going to kill Louis.

***

Despite the awkwardness of their first meeting, Liam was able to charm Zayn into agreeing to go out with him. One date led to two, two dates led to three, three dates led to a four-month anniversary that Liam was terribly stressed over.  He wanted everything to be perfect but had no idea how to do that. It seemed no matter what he tried to plan, something always went wrong. 

He had ordered her favourite meal for a picnic, only to discover the restaurant had burned to the ground the night before he was to pick it up. He’d stopped at a flower shop for her favourite flowers, accidentally ordering the one she was allergic to because that was the type that had gotten stuck in his head. Thankfully, Harry had pointed out his error before he’d actually given the flowers to Zayn. He’d stopped by the shelter to try to “rent-a-puppy” for a few hours but discovered they’d been booked solid for months. Banging his head against the wall outside the shelter, he was at a complete loss for what to do now.

After a few moments, he managed to push himself away from the wall. Turning around, he ran smack into his ex-girlfriend, Darlene. “Freakin’ perfect,” he muttered under his breath when she gave him a too-bright smile, placing a hand on his chest, nails scratching slightly through his shirt. “Hi, how are you?” he asked, trying to be polite, but already planning how to make a quick getaway.

“I’m good,” she practically purred, and Liam fought the urge to roll his eyes. The relationship hadn’t ended well, but he refused to be flat out rude, as much as he wanted to be. “John and I split up.”

Liam’s hackles raised at the mention. John had been the guy that she’d been seeing before she’d met Liam, assuring him that relationship was long over. It wasn’t. The entire time Liam had been seeing her, he’d been nothing more than a side piece, and he was still horribly embarrassed. That’s what he got for thinking someone like her would be interested in someone like him.

Stepping back, he gently removed her hand from his chest. “Think I’ve heard that line before.” He counted it as a win when he didn’t feel even an ounce of guilt at the hurt look on her face.

“For real this time,” she said, trying to step closer, pouting when Liam took another step back. 

“Even if I were still interested, which I’m not, I’m seeing someone,” Liam told her, smiling as he pulled out his phone and unlocked it to show her the picture of Zayn that was his phone’s wallpaper.

“You’re dating Zayn Malik?” The sneer on her face flared Liam’s anger.

“Is there a problem with that?” He knew his voice was dripping with a brand of poison that was unusual for him, but he hated to hear anything disparaging about Zayn.

Darlene shrugged. “Well, you know some say, ‘She's such a fake.’”

Liam glared. “Well, I guess it would take one to know one, wouldn’t it?” He turned on his heel, ignoring the sputtering of outrage behind him.

“She doesn’t really love you! Who would love you?” Darlene shouted, and Liam tried to pretend her words didn’t sting.

Once he was around the corner, he dropped down onto a bench, elbows on his knees and face buried in his hands. He let out a silent scream. His mind was racing with Darlene’s words. He really didn’t want to believe them, but he always struggled with the belief that someone as amazing and beautiful as Zayn was with him. He’d spent so much of his life hearing how worthless he was, and then after the debacle that was Darlene, he was convinced he would never be someone’s number one.

He knew he loved Zayn. He loved her more than he’d ever loved anyone, had even told his mum who’d been thrilled. He figured his sisters had already started planning the wedding. The only person he hadn’t told was Zayn, terrified that she would laugh at him. There was a small part of him that believed he was just a fling to her, a way to pass the time until someone better came along.

He wiped at the tears that had sprung out of his eyes, startling when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he was completely surprised to see Zayn sitting next to him. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged, pointing over her shoulder towards the art supply store where she worked. “Saw you race around the corner, drop on the bench and then not move. Got worried.” She was chewing her lower lip, and Liam couldn’t stop himself from using his thumb to pull it free of her teeth. “Alright?” Liam nodded before leaning in to press his lips to hers.

He could feel Zayn’s smile before he pulled back, he loved that feeling, knowing that kissing Liam made Zayn smile. He took a deep breath. “I love you,” he said, his own teeth digging into his lip as soon as the words had escaped.

Her smile grew even wider, her eyes sparkling as her tongue pressed behind her teeth. “I love you, too.” Her voice was so matter-of-fact as if Liam should have already known. Her head tilted when Liam didn’t say anything. “You did know that, right?” Liam felt his cheeks warm as he shook his head slightly. “You think I show up with chicken soup at four in the morning for just anyone? That I just happen to have all of my mates’ schedules memorized?” Liam felt really foolish now, but what she said last actually made him feel cruel. “That I just randomly sleep around with my friends?”

“N-n-” Liam stuttered out, words lost, cutting off completely when Zayn raised her hand. 

“Look, maybe you need to think about those words you just said to me because I can’t imagine you could love someone you think so little of. Really thought you were different, babe.” She brushed at her eyes as she got up off the bench, turning back towards the store.

“Wait!” Liam shouted, smiling hopefully when Zayn stopped and turned back to face him. He hopped over the back of the bench, his foot getting caught at the last moment, sending him sprawling at Zayn’s feet.

His face took on the flush that seemed to be constant around Zayn, not that he’d ever complain; he’d rather spend his life embarrassed with Zayn than without her. He glanced up to see her standing with a hand over her mouth, face red and eyes watering. Her shoulders were shaking and after a moment, Liam joined in her laughter.

“You really don’t need to keep throwing yourself at my feet, babe,” she said, reaching down to help him up. She ran a hand over his cheek. “I love you so much.”

“I know,” Liam said, his voice finally holding the conviction it should have held moments earlier. “I love you, too.”

***

Four months marked the official beginning of exclusivity for Liam and Zayn. One year rolled around and found them moving into a flat together, enduring the harassment of their friends. Graduation came and went, Liam began working as a trainer for a local semi-pro football team while Zayn interned with a comic book company. Three years found them still together, Liam still working for the football team and working part-time as a personal trainer at the gym in the same building where Zayn was working full time as an illustrator at the comic book company she’d interned at.

At around the three and a half year mark, Zayn came home from work bouncing with more energy than usual, her coworker, Niall, following behind talking loudly, as usual. “This is awesome!” he shouted as the door opened,

Liam glanced over the back of the sofa, smiling at Zayn whose arms were full of grocery sacks. Niall had a case of beer under each arm. “Are we celebrating?”

“Hell, yeah!” Niall shouted, dropping the cases on the coffee table and breaking them open. He pulled out a bottle for each one of them as Zayn disappeared into the kitchen. “Zayn’s comic got greenlighted!”

“What?!” Liam said, looking at Niall before jumping off the sofa and hurrying into the kitchen, stopping when he found Zayn bent over in front of the fridge, giving him a lovely view. “You got greenlighted?”

Zayn stood, turning to face him, a huge smile on her face as she nodded. “I got greenlighted,” she repeated, and Liam knew it was a thrill for her to say it. He wondered how many times she already had and would again, knowing he wouldn’t mind if she said it non-stop for the entire night; he was so damn proud of her. “Niall and I have a month to finish the first issue. They’re already actively planning events for the launch.” They looked at each other, huge smiles on their faces for a moment before Zayn squealed, jumping at Liam.

Liam should’ve known what was coming, but he was still taken off guard and found himself on his back, looking up at a less-than-apologetic Zayn. 

“I’m always falling for you, aren’t I?” Liam asked.

Zayn laughed loudly, standing and pulling Liam to his feet and running a hand over his cheek. “The falling is mutual, yours is just the only one that’s literal.”

***

Although Niall and Zayn got the comic finished by the month deadline, it took another nine months before the launch. Tidbits and teases had been posted online for three months leading up to the event. Buzz over the new female superheroine, Girl Almighty, was huge, so the launch party was moved three different times to bigger and better venues.

The night of the launch, Zayn was nervously flitting through the flat in her undergarments, afraid to put her dress on too soon and get three dogs worth of dog hair on it. Liam wasn’t going to complain about the view, but he was definitely concerned about Zayn’s state of mind. He knew that big events made her nervous and the fact she was going to have to make a speech later in the night had her wanting to call off the whole event, or at least have Niall speak in her place.

Liam was leaning in the doorway of their room as Zayn was sliding the formfitting black dress over her head, careful not to mess up the perfect hairstyle and makeup she’d spent hours on. Once the dress was over her head, she grabbed her heels, sliding them on and then cursing because she couldn’t keep her balance long enough to do up the buckles. Liam smiled, leading her over to the bed. She glanced meaningfully at the dogs, so Liam ran into the bathroom. He brought out a towel and laid it on the bed, taking Zayn’s hand and helping her to sit on the edge of the bed.

She leaned over to do the straps, but Liam held up a hand. He knelt, taking one of her feet into his lap. Once they were buckled, she started to stand, but he stopped her. She tilted her head, eyebrows raised in question. “Originally, I’d planned this for the launch party, but it got a little bit too big.” Liam reached into the pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a small black box.

“Liam,” Zayn gasped as he popped open the box, displaying a delicate silver ring with a black onyx heart surrounded by tiny diamonds.

“Every time I’ve ended up sprawled in front of you, probably from that very first day in the park, I couldn’t help thinking, ‘I'd get down on my knees for you.’ So, after four years and hundreds of falls, I finally decided it was time to do it for real. I love you, Zayn Malik, with every inch of my being, and I would be absolutely thrilled if you would do me the honour of becoming my wife.”

Zayn’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded, holding out her trembling left hand for Liam to slide the ring onto. As soon as the ring was in place, she pulled him to his feet, laying her hand on his cheek, admiring the sparkle of the ring as she leaned into a kiss.

“Are you done?” Niall’s voice spoke from the doorway, and they broke apart on a laugh, Zayn burying her face into Liam’s neck. “Alright then. Come on, guys!”

Soon, Louis, Harry, and Niall joined them in the room passing around glasses filled with champagne until everyone held one. Zayn stood next to Liam, their free arms wrapped around each other, as Zayn leaned into him. Liam pressed a kiss to her cheek as they listened to their friends talk about their relationship, Louis taking full credit for everything. 

When it was Zayn’s turn, she stayed silent for a long time before beginning to speak of true love and how she knew that's what she had with Liam from the first time he fell at her feet. Liam felt his face flush as their friends’ laughter surrounded him. However, he felt nothing but pride when he saw the ring on Zayn's finger catch the light. 

When Zayn was done speaking, the four turned to Liam expectantly.

He smiled, blinking back tears as he thought about the woman he loved and the two words he'd had engraved to the inside of her ring. He raised his glass. “Let's have another toast to the  _ Girl Almighty _ !”

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to come talk to me on Twitter or tumblr. I really love meeting new people!


End file.
